People Behind the Science Podcast Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers 486: Theoretical Physicist and Author Discovering Novel Forms of Matter and Improving our Understanding of the Universe - Dr. Paul Steinhardt
Dr. Paul Steinhardt is the Albert Einstein Professor in Science, Professor in the Department of Physics, Professor in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, and Director of the Princeton Center for Theoretical Sciences. In addition, Paul is author of the popular science book Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang and the recently released book The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter. Paul is a theoretical physicist whose areas of study range from the nature of particles to the origins of the universe. He uses the known laws of nature to unravel some of the many secrets of nature that remain. His goal is to understand why things are the way they are and to discover connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena. In his free time, Paul enjoys hanging out with his four kids and his grandchild. Lately, he has also become fond of attending opera performances and hiking. Paul received his B.S. in physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from Harvard University. Afterwards, Paul was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows. He served on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania for about 17 years before joining the faculty at Princeton University. Paul has been recognized for his exceptional research as one of the recipients of the 2002 Dirac Medal from the International Centre for theoretical Physics, a recipient of the Oliver E. Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society, a recipient of the John Scott Award, and one of the recipients of the 2018 Aspen Italia Prize. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences. Paul was also named a Sloan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, the Simons Fellow in Theoretical Physics, a Radcliffe Institute Fellow at Harvard University, a Moore Fellow at Caltech, and a Caltech Distinguished Alumnus. In our interview Paul shared more about his life and science.